APPLYING A BACKGROUND in education to the business of home care for seniors, Victoria Chalmers built her Home Instead Senior Care business from scratch — from no clients and no staff to 135-plus employees providing a family-focused care solution for almost 200 area seniors and their loved ones.
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What’s your biggest business achievement?
Building this team has meant recognition and awards, but one we are most proud of is the Better Business Bureau Integrity Award. This meant so much to us, since integrity is at the centre of everything we aim to do. Our mission statement is, ‘With care, compassion, integrity and excellence, we will over-deliver in everything we do.’ I feel this mission statement has also led to us winning the Best of London for Senior Care award nine years in a row. This means so much to all of us who work in the office as well as to the wonderful caregivers who are out in our community providing care. They are true heroes to us, their clients and family members.
“I always ask myself the question, ‘How am I modelling to my children what life looks like?’ I want to encourage them to find their passion and find what brings them life —and pursue that with their whole heart” ―Victoria Chalmers
What kind of obstacles have you had to face?
Although my husband was born in London and grew up outside of Grand Bend, the biggest obstacle for me, personally, was moving to London and not knowing a single soul in the city. We moved here with a three-year-old, a 21-month-old and a two-month-old. We opened a business providing care to a very vulnerable population and it was imperative to build trust with individuals in London. We joined networking groups, we got connected to different groups supporting seniors and began to build our network of both personal and professional contacts. And here we are. December 31, 2020 marks 11 years since our two Penske moving trucks rolled into town.
What’s next for you, personally or professionally?
I still want to explore exactly what it means to combine running a successful business with the things are most life-giving to me. I am most inspired and energized when I can see a need and help to fulfill it. I always ask myself the question, ‘How am I modelling to my children what life looks like?’ I want to encourage them to find their passion and find what brings them life —and pursue that with their whole heart.
Guilty pleasure?
I absolutely love those nights when I decide I will let myself indulge in my guilty pleasure, which consists of an ice-cold Coke, chips and salsa — preferably Mrs. Renfro’s Green Salsa — and peanut M&M’s. If this is accompanied by watching a football game, in my opinion it ticks all the boxes of a wonderful night!
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